Dogs

All dog owners have a responsibility to ensure that their pet does not cause a nuisance to others. This means that the owner must comply with certain laws, most of which are straight forward and are there to ensure that people and dogs can live happily and safely in the community.

The laws for dog owners state that:

Your dog must wear a collar on with your name and address on – regardless to whether it is tattooed or micro-chipped (Control of Dogs Order 1992). The maximum penalty for non-compliance is £5,000

You must clean up after your dog at all times (Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005 /Control of Dogs Order 1992). Fixed penalty tickets are routinely served and successful prosecutions have been taken for dog fouling offenders

Your dog should be under control while off the lead and not be a nuisance to other people, animals or children (Clean Neighbourhoods and Environment Act 2005/ Control of Dogs Order 1992/Dangerous Dog Act 1991)

The council can obtain a control order against dogs which are dangerous or not under proper control (Dogs Act 1871)

From 6 April 2016 it was compulsory for owners to ensure their dog is microchipped. Owners must also ensure that their details are kept up to date so that it is easier to track down the owner if a dog is found straying. Read more information about microchipping.

Dog warden

The Council employs a dog warden to encourage responsible dog ownership and enforce the law in relation to strays, fouling and barking. Our service operates on standard office hours, 5 days per week, but we always have a dog warden on call to deal with stray dogs during the evenings and the weekends.

You can contact the dog warden out of office hours on 0115 981 1143.

Barking dogs

Noise from barking dogs is a common cause for complaint - see our information on noise pollution.

Stray dogs

Rushcliffe Borough Council operates a limited service for the seizure of stray dogs. The service operates from 8am-10pm, 365 days a year. If you have caught a stray dog or have confined one in a secure area, please contact the dog wardens during normal working hours (8am - 5pm) by calling the Customer Contact Centre or on the out of hours number 0115 981 1143 outside of these hours.

A 'stray' dog can be a dog whose owner isn't present, one that has been let out on its own or a family pet that has escaped. Stray dogs can cause problems such as road accidents, indiscriminate fouling and attacks on people or animals. Under the Environmental Protection Act 1990, dog wardens have the authority to seize any dog that is in a public place unsupervised.

All stray dogs seized out of normal office hours will automatically be taken to our kennels. During normal office hours, where it is possible to immediately identify the owner, safe and practical to do so, a stray dog may be returned directly to the owners on the first occasion only where it is found to be stray.

Where stray dogs are taken to our kennels, the owner will have up to seven days to claim back their dog. A list of dogs found by our wardens can be seen on the Stray dog register page. This register is updated every hour, including evenings and weekends.

On reclaiming a dog, the owner will have to pay a fee and all charges including kennelling in full to the Council by contacting the Rushcliffe Communcity Contact Centre on 0115 981 9911, before a dog can be reclaimed from the kennels. Dogs can only be reclaimed from the kennels from Monday to Friday, between 10.00 am and 4.00 pm.

If a dog is not reclaimed it will either be re-homed or, sadly, humanely destroyed.

Current fees from 1 April 2018

Please note, the fees are not negotiable. Neither the kennels nor the Council will waive or reduce the fees, or accept payment by instalments. Please note that the day rate is per any part of a day.

Lost dogs

If you have lost your dog, contact the dog warden, with a full description of your dog and where the dog was lost. A list of dogs found by our wardens can be seen on the Stray dog register page. This register is updated every hour, including evenings and weekends.

If the department receives a call about a stray dog which fits the description of your dog, we can then contact you. If the dog has already has been taken to the kennels a release fee will be charged. On reclaiming a dog, the owner will have to pay the fee and kennelling charges in full to the Council before a dog can be reclaimed from the kennel. The dog warden service can be contacted on 0115 9819911.